Top three things which could be holding you and your business back

Fantastic, you’ve started your own business. But are you holding your business back or is something else stopping it from being the success it should be? Maybe it’s been going a while now but it seems stuck. What could be holding you and your business back?

Do you some days feel you lack motivation and love for your business and if you’re honest you are starting to wonder if being a business owner was the best idea? You are definitely not alone. Most business owners feel that their business gets stuck sometimes and question what, if anything, is holding it back.

Here are the top three things which I feel hold a business and its owner back from achieving their best.

Is your health or concentration affecting your motivation to achieve in business?

Many business owners work themselves way too hard, often being their harshest critics and meanest boss ever. It is perfectly natural to want to work hard, put in the effort and believe it will bring you the results and therefore rewards you desire.

But it is also possible that working too hard and not looking after yourself could be making you less efficient and less able to do a great job. Such problems often linked to this are being too busy to:

eat correctly

sleep enough

exercise well

take time out for some fun

When you work for yourself you need more than ever to look after your own health and wellbeing as you have no sick leave or sick pay and taking time off sick can mean letting down clients. This is definitely a case of putting your wellbeing first.

Your family demands may be affecting your business success

We all know that if you are juggling a family and a business this makes it really tough to keep motivated, feel in control and generally able to concentrate on the job in hand. However family demands can come in another way. Lack of support for your business idea can have a huge impact on your ability to achieve. Every time you have a doubt or feel anxious knowing that you don’t have the support of those around you, this can add to your inability to cope.

As much as I say it is important to find people to support you in your business idea, it is also necessary to understand why others may be unwilling to support you. For some it could be jealousy because you have decided to do something they would love to but can’t or don’t have the confidence to do. Others may find it difficult that you now have something which takes up your time and means you are unable to share it with them in the same way as before. Try speaking to your family and friends and find out why they don’t feel willing or able to support you in your business ideas. Explain how much their support would mean to you.

Your confidence and lack of self-belief could be holding your business back

Working on your own can be fantastic; you have control over your hours, what you do and who your clients are. However, we all need to have rewards, and often financial rewards are not enough (or maybe you are struggling to get those as well). If you are not getting positive reinforcement for your work, your confidence can start to waiver. Even worse, if sales are slow or you start feeling unsure you are making the right decisions, your self-belief can come crashing down around you.

Unfortunately the more your confidence and self-belief begin to falter, the more your business suffers, as you don’t come across as confident to clients. Let’s face it, if you’re dealing with a business owner who isn’t sure in themselves, it can affect your desire to work with them or buy from them.

Often all you need is to speak to other business owners. Knowing you’re not alone and that others are having similar issues can really help rebuild your confidence. We all get low patches, but knowing others are willing to listen and help you can really speed up that bounce back process.

If you need the support of other business owners, consider joining a mastermind group for business people who want support and encouragement to grow their business to the next level.